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Included in the proposals are 17 one-bedroom flats and 11 two-bedroom flats with open plan living, lift and stair access to parking, large window openings to take in the river setting, with top floor flats having vaulted ceilings and all flats including west facing balconies. There will be four ground floor flats which are wheelchair adaptable.

Plans also include a picturesque series of gardens spilling down to the river, with tree and shrub planting along the linear landscaped river garden and areas for communal play and access.

How the new development will look from the Great Western Way bridge

In a presentation to those who attended, architect James Turner said: “We approached the client because there was an open competition inviting architects to submit proposals for this site. It was a national competition with 55 entries of which there was a shortlist of five, and we were the winners of that.

“The client’s aspiration for this site is to set a standard for high-quality design that is a completely different approach to what has previously been suggested for this site with a view of providing housing. So no care homes, no proposals for cafes, it’s about putting housing on the site to regenerate the site.

“We’re really excited; it’s a great site. There’s a certain amount of accommodation that needs to go on this site to make it viable. Otherwise, nothing is going to happen. If you were to drop that accommodation onto the site, you would end up with an ugly building which just fills the site, and doesn’t fit in.

“What we have created is something in keeping with the rest of Tiverton. Staying low by the river, and having the mass of the site from higher up; that means the view from the bridge will show a low level of development stepping up with St George’s Church being a key viewpoint that we wanted to maintain. We also have created some pedestrian lanes which will be unique to Tiverton, creating routes and views through the site, so no massive building is blocking the view. Pitched roofs will also be appropriate and feel right in Tiverton.

“We’re hoping to make it feel like a timeless, built up overtime, slightly organic development. Finally, we looked at materials, and we didn’t want to just use one material, so we’ve used a mixture of brick and render and breaking down what would otherwise be a big building, and some of that was sensitive and appropriate for the site.”

The site currently has an 8m slope from the top at St Andrew’s Street to the river wall where there will be an 8m exclusion zone.

What the current site looks like at the moment

Another architect who was also present, Alim Salah, added: “We will have 33 car parking spaces for residents and six located elsewhere on the site. Every unit we are putting on there, there will be one parking space.

“We will have lanes going down to the river, two storey houses along the river, then three and four storey flats further back. Each house will have a front and rear garden, with a lush landscape and riverside garden along the riverfront.

“It’s very public, creates a sense of neighbourliness for kids to play outside the front door, and having cars away from the space adds to the community feeling.

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“This is an extraordinary site, right in the middle of Tiverton, next to the famous River Exe, and over looked by a series of fabulous listed buildings. It is an opportunity to ‘complete’ an important piece of a historic town centre, and to encourage a new mixed community.

“We were inspired by the historic plans of Tiverton and the pattern of development along Major Tenement Boundaries. These linear plot divisions extending off significant mercantile streets have resulted in some amazing yards and courtyards; terraced buildings run parallel with each other, and are entered off narrow, intimate cobbled ‘lanes’. The lanes are often gently sloping, accessed via archways formed through high street buildings. This is a significant aspect of Tiverton’s historic character and provides a useful model for how to develop the site.”